


Constellation Marks in the Snow

by Claus_Lucas



Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 11:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8487571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claus_Lucas/pseuds/Claus_Lucas
Summary: It’s the seniors’ graduation party and everyone has danced except for Tony and Jeff. But when they’re alone, their footsteps mark constellations in the snow.





	

**Author's Note:**

> self-care was writing this fic
> 
> [the time to sleep](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8PHNeT_x1U)

A blooming architect with a flair for dramaturgy, Tony is often elected as the coordinator of the school’s various social events. He rarely postulates himself, but struggles to turn down an honest request for help, so he accepts unless it directly conflicts with his academic schedule. Though there are rules and themes to abide, the committees that assign Tony generally allow him enough space to project his own vision. He enjoys being inventive, appearing effortlessly spontaneous before his spectators while meticulous research lies hidden behind it. Overall, he aims to entertain, not just others but himself as well. Reunions are a system where every member has a chance to participate, its ultimate potential attained when no one is left out of the equations. Familiar with the role of passive bystander, acting as host permits Tony to brainstorm and chart plans that’ll gear everyone to feel comfortable enough to engage in their distinct manner. He’s also skilled at adapting to the specific parameters of a job: if he’s been entrusted with organizing a birthday party, he inquires for the individual’s interests, orchestrates a play tailored to their tastes, hangs banners inscribed with accomplishments and affectionate nicknames; if he’s to overlook the winter gift exchange, he conjures creative ways of expressing appreciation, changes the rules slightly each year so presents can never quite be a dull decision, checks and double checks the lists of paired students while ensuring that there’ll be a backups if anyone falls short.

When, after six years of boarding school, the seniors’ graduation is officially enacted in paper and ceremony, it’s only natural that some sort of celebration should follow. Nothing spectacular, but just slightly sentimental, significant to those that have done most of their growing from children to young adults within the walls of this academy –an evening of satisfied closure, an opportunity to engrave a warm memory at the end of their arduous journey.

Seeing as Tony is one of those seniors, it has become his responsibility to plot the course of that event as well. He’s instructed by his teachers to select a motif that the rest of his generation can resonate with, then figure out what the other students would like to do so he can set up a routine. Tony has a good idea but it requires some external assistance, so he enlists his best friend’s scientific and musical savvy.

Jeff is an undecided major, heading for engineering but without a clearly defined trajectory. His interests include ancient civilizations, dead languages, dark matter, weather forecast, taxidermy, cryptozoology, robotics, the concept of God as a mathematical equation, science fiction writing, romance era poetry, the lifecycle of sea slugs, dinosaurs, and most genres of music –amongst others. The issue is that he’s so profoundly but equally passionate about everything that nothing stands out enough for him to gravitate towards it. Plus, while he has ambition, he lacks the inspiration to pursue it: he’d love to discover a new galaxy, but he’d just as well settle for teaching calculus to a high school class.

Though he seems to have each finger in a different field, Jeff is far from being a jack of all trades and master of none: his ability to hyper-focus on a topic allows him to absorb copious amounts of information in a brief span of time, recalling most of it again once the occasion arises. Unfortunately, this also means that when teachers suggest that he opt for whatever he excels at, he’s once more met with a dilemma: he could be skilled at any of these fields if he applied himself, enough to surely fulfill the requirements presented to him by college.

Tony has commented that some people go to college and try to learn a bit of everything, develop their minds wherever it finds room to breathe. There’s no rush and you’ll surely land somewhere with a solid foundation with how smart you are, he says. Jeff isn’t particularly worried but he can appreciate how much nicer it’d be to know exactly where he wants to be four to eight years from now. Tony has about as versatile an arsenal of interests as his best friend but he’s always made it clear that he’d be happiest authoring the schematics of towers, bridges, schools, and churches. Maybe with a little bit of creative writing on the side.

One thing is for certain: they’re unlikely to stray far from each other –compromises will be made to ensure that they stick together. Their fields of interest overlap and they’re close enough to understand the value of company over academic opportunity. Obviously, they’ll aim for a high-level schooling, but they’re of the mentality that believes one can only learn as much as they dedicate themselves to, which means that the best is useless to those that can’t take advantage of it and the worst can still elevate those that properly dissect it. As far as they’re concerned, college is no reason for them to sacrifice the bond they’ve built over six long years of sharing dorms and study sessions.

They’re dating, anyway, and people don’t transition to a long distance relationship without a solid motive. It’s not like they’re codependent, but their emotional health would suffer significantly if they were forced to part, plus the strain of entering a completely new environment without the support of someone they know and trust beside them. Their dynamics spread out like the roots of a tree, intricate and strong, tailored specifically to their needs and what they can offer in return. Jeff, for example, has a remarkable memory but often struggles to decipher where certain knowledge should be applied: Tony helps break down the information into segments that can then be linked to a greater picture, illustrating concepts as living ecosystems that Jeff can mold according to what he’s trying to understand. On the other hand, Tony has a terrible time registering numbers and dates, a burden that Jeff has eased by teaching him various tricks of his own design, everything from rhymes to mathematical formulas. And that’s just in regards to their academic life: there’s a whole star system of interactions they’ve honed over the course of their acquaintanceship, intimately familiar with each other’s feelings and opinions on different matters, how they react to stressful situations and how to recognize a positive signal. They both love words but they often communicate without employing them, whole psychological descriptions transmitted through the ways they look, touch, move.

Then sometimes they’re just silly games they’re comfortable enough to partake in. Jeff playing connect the dots with the freckles strewn across Tony’s arm. Tony fixing Jeff’s collar and bow before a presentation. Jeff asking to have his hand held throughout the night. Tony leaving pieces of poetry on their shared desk when he wakes up before Jeff.

Love can be tender and soft like a fresh blanket of snow, melting against the warmth of their bodies until all the complex little flakes have become a watery mosaic through which they tie together their hands and start to roll around. Angel silhouettes imprinted across the courtyard ground. Footprints racing in and out of the gates, like constellation marks on a map. A country in perpetual winter is full of adventurous wonders.

Tony prepares a dance for his fellow seniors to enjoy. The theme he chooses is _2001: Space Journey_ (a classic work of literature and cinematography that they all agree is excellent) so the decorations plastered against walls, peppered over furniture, and cascading from the ceiling are spacey. The most popular shades are navy, obsidian, and pearl, followed closely by ruby and platinum. The lights are dimmed down so glow-in-the-dark stars and spaceships can glimmer. Jeff operates music from a desk, playing tracks that are primarily instrumental and characterized by the calm perseverance of rain weighing down a leaf until it falls: accomplishing something but in no hurry. The final hour of the event, however, does electrify the atmosphere somewhat, featuring a selection of tracks from the film that are much more upbeat. As a result the night ends feeling less like the closing of a chapter and more like the opening of a new one. A successful memory engraved.

Afterwards, Tony and Jeff are to clean up what they can. It’s seven minutes past eleven o’ clock and they’re pretty exhausted even if most of what they did was overseeing. Tony spoke with various classmates and school personnel but did not engage in the recreational activities. Once the last guest left, he practically collapsed into Jeff’s lap. Jeff eventually had to rouse him so they could carry the sound gear back into their dorm.

Tony wants to sleep but his sense of commitment to the festivity extends past its conclusion. He isn’t saying they should put away _everything_ , yet some of it must be removed so that he can go to bed with a guiltless conscious. Just enough for the younger students to not discover a mess in the main lobby when they wake up tomorrow.

He’s perfectly willing to undertake this alone, but Jeff immediately grabs a broom and starts gathering trash into a pile. Tony’s eyes, which are underlined by gray streaks, light up with gratitude at the sight of it. Jeff answers by twisting the corner of his lips upward: a small, lopsided smile. Together they try to make the room presentable for those that weren’t involved in the merrymaking.

It feels like a long, drawn-out period of time when in reality they only spend about twenty minutes total, but by the end of it they’re leaning their cleaning utensils against the wall and thinking that they’ve done enough. The remainder can wait until they’ve had a good night’s rest.

Tony still looks as if he might accidentally topple over on his own so Jeff offers his body as support, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s torso, nudging him closer. Tony’s head touches Jeff’s shoulder and his tired gaze brightens again when it intersects with the young man staring down at him. In that unexpected moment of intimacy, it occurs to Tony that they’ve been too preoccupied by the event to actually enjoy it. In fact, the whole of it transpired without them engaging in a single dance.

A smile slinks into Tony’s expression, broad and ripe with affection. Jeff doesn’t know what Tony has planned but he tries to answer in kind, lowering his face to kiss him on the lips. Laughter rumbles in Tony’s throat, kindhearted and fond, just another interpretation of happiness. Then he moves out of Jeff’s grasp, standing in front of him while he lifts both hands to grip his shoulders.

“We haven’t danced yet,” Tony says: a fact.

He’s referring to the event itself but it’s actually been quite a while since their last dance. Tony’s keen on all factions of art and leans towards learning by teaching so Jeff serves as his partner when it requires two people. With all the classwork and studying that surrounded finals, however, those silly games they play were pushed out of their schedule.

Tonight seems like a good chance to reinstall the old routine.

Jeff can’t recall off of the top of his head how to slow dance and he’s a bit nervous but he trusts Tony to go easy on him considering the circumstances. Not like Tony’s ever really gotten angry at him for stepping on his toes.

Jeff positions his hands over Tony’s shoulders, sucking in a deep breath that hopefully isn’t too obvious. He tries to force his body to relax. Tony takes the first step.

As expected, Tony treats him as if this were there first time partnered up. His movements are careful and slow, measured so Jeff can see precisely how to respond. So far it’s just a matter of mimicking what Tony does.

Practice is performed in silence. Jeff’s eyes trail the ground, ensuring he doesn’t miss a beat. Tony watches his nervous expression, iridescent with warmhearted amusement. But it’s not that they have nothing to say: rather, this is already a conversation, a ceremony of give and take where all their feelings are conveyed through the effort put into their movements. Even if Jeff messes up, his intentions will be good and it’s the thought that counts.

Tony is leading him somewhere but Jeff hasn’t yet realized. He’s too entranced by keeping up with Tony’s cadence. Now he’s raising the difficulty a little bit, gradually a little more. Jeff fears that the cue will arrive soon to request his personal input. He can’t follow Tony’s echoes forever.

Jeff recognizes it when Tony stops: no next movement, no hint as to what he expects. Tony’s had a delightful time playing lead but now it’s Jeff’s turn to exercise his artistic imagination. Link the knowledge he collected from reading all those books on dancing to the act in real life.

Jeff isn’t sure if it’s right, or even if he can recall it from one of their past exchanges; perhaps it’s a genuine invention after all. But there it is, his four aces, the queen sliding to check the king: like a brushstroke, like a risk that could be worth the ruin.

A hand is touching Tony’s waist, the other still propped on his shoulder. Jeff has bent his knee a notch so his body can lower, lowering Tony in the process. Their noses skim each other.

Really, it’s not much, but every step is a victory, each little wonder a warm, fond memory.

Tony lifts his head to kiss Jeff. Sweat has trickled into his mouth from all the tension he built up during the wait. It’s not exactly a pleasant taste but Tony doesn’t mind. Doesn’t mind at all.

Again there’s that giggle, weightless with glee and trying to capitalize on the unexpected perfection of a transient moment. His heart contracts at an accelerated rhythm, blood pumped through his arms and face that he can feel as if they were fingers gently tapping from the inside of his skin. Jeff traces the shape of Tony’s jawline.

Tony stands them both upright. He remembers why he came this way.

The doors are open and Tony is stepping outside. It’s always cold in Winters but tonight isn’t particularly frigid. Snowflakes descending from the clouds prickle when they touch his skin but it’s not enough to make him want to go inside.

Jeff walks up next to him.

“The snow’s lovely tonight,” Tony comments.

Above them the moon is an ivory halo. The sky is midnight blue where the clouds don’t obscure it with an opaque filter.

“Yeah,” Jeff answers.

“I want to see it again before we leave,” says Tony, talking about more than just the sight of the sky and the forest.

He steps forward, first one, then a couple more. Tony looks down at the snow, the footprints he’s left, and then follows the trail back to Jeff.

“Come on, before anyone discovers we’re out here,” Tony says, as if it were their first time breaking a rule, as if one of them were planning to run away.

Except this time Jeff takes Tony’s hand and holds onto it like an anchor sinking into the ocean, decidedly bound. They race through the chilly weather. The only drifting they’ll be doing is together.

Constellation marks in the snow.


End file.
